


Reuniting

by MagicAlpha



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Afterlife, Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, One Shot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sad, Short
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 15:52:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17287007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicAlpha/pseuds/MagicAlpha
Summary: As Nick explores the new afterlife he finds himself in after passing from an eventful lifetime, his bunny companion awaits him.





	Reuniting

The fox wheezed as he tried to position his body upright in the bed, looking around at some of the mammals that accompanied him. For the longest time, the vulpine was in great physical shape despite the age he currently was. It wasn’t until the previous two months did his overall health take an abrupt turn.

The elderly Nicholas Wilde was reaching his end, but he didn't have any sign of fear despite what was about to come sooner than later. The vulpine lived a long and eventful lifetime, with so many friends and unforgettable memories made. Additionally, having the presence of those he loved seeing put a smile on his muzzle regardless of the circumstances.

His eyes slowly dotted around the room, gazing at who was looking at him from both sides of the bed. Friends, family, and kits that stood all grown up looking at him with sagging heads and tears streaming down their eyes.

“Why all the tears?” he said with a hoarse voice. “I’ve had a great life, so many adventures.”

A delicate paw touched his shoulder, coming from Nick’s eldest son. “Say hello to mom for me,” he managed to say, failing to try and hold back his emotional tears.

“I will, son,” Nick replied.

The dying vulpine lifted his other paw from the comforter it was resting under, revealing what was in his grasp. In his right paw held one of Judy’s recognizable carrot pens, one he held on to for the longest time and refused to record over. A claw traced over the button on the pen, and with that the fox placed it by his ear to listen to the message it contained.

“ _Love you, Nick, always and forever._ ”

 That distinct voice rung in his ears, so sweet and sincere. Despite keeping the pen in great shape, he solemnly swore to himself that he would never delete that recording. It became like a keepsake to the vulpine, letting him hear the beautiful voice of his bunny whenever he needed to hear it.

But now, he knew that he would be able to perhaps reunite with his leporine companion once again.

His strength slowly faded away, his vision becoming clouded as his eyelids became heavy. The fox’s eyes shut and his breathing slowed as he drifted off into the state of sleep. A smile brushed across his muzzle as a single thought registered in his brain: _I’ll be with you again soon, Judy…_

* * *

 

A white, luminous glow started to circulate around Nick’s body, and the flashing instances of the previous moments started to fade away. _Where am I?_

As the extremely bright light started to fade, an exquisite landscape started to coalesce around him. Nick stood there trying to take in everything that just happened, his body now completely fine and free of the illness he originally had. Inside of his head, the fox concluded that where he was now was probably no longer part of the physical or mortal realm.

The views around Nick looked like something out of a surreal piece of artwork. A meadow glowing with an almost phantasmagorical green stretched out before him, along with beguiling golden mountains that seemed to be stretched out far in the horizon. Right within the center of the glorious meadow stood a great and humongous tree, the branches within it thick and interweaving. Squinting his eyes for just a moment, Nick realized that there was something even more spectacular to see about the tree. Not only was it humongous in size, but every leaf (from what the fox could make out of it, at least) glowed in electrifying shades of green. It looked like something out of a dream, and yet it was all part of this landscape that was laid out in front of him. 

Nick dropped to the ground clumsily and stared out into the vast meadow, his mouth agape at how he was experiencing something so beautiful and breathtaking. Brought down to his knees, the fox gazed up towards the sky. Above him, the firmament glowed in a mixture of extramundane hues. It looked reminiscent of the colorful patterns found on a kaleidoscope. The stars, scintillating and scattered abroad the horizon, all flickered against the elegant shades of the sky. Tears coursed their way down Nick’s muzzle, their salty taste hitting him as they ran down upon him like drips of rain against a windowpane. _It’s beautiful,_ Nick thought. 

He could spend forever gazing at what breathtaking views this place had to offer, but a sudden thought entered his head. 

“Judy,” he quietly murmured.

Instinctively, the fox instantly got back up on his paws and ran without anything but Judy in mind. The tall and radiantly-glowing grass bristled against his fur as he sprinted towards the tree. The massive woody giant started to become closer and closer to him, starting to grow in size as it entered his view.

“Carrots!” He exclaimed, trying to see if his mate was nearby. “Judy!”

Passing up the humongous tree, he saw something else gradually entering his vision. From where he was currently positioned, it appeared to be some sort of bridge. He didn’t exactly know where it lead, nor he did he have knowledge of how far it stretched onward. But something on the inside was telling him to cross this path, as if it were silently urging him to walk forward in order to reunite with his love.

Once he reached the first steps of the bridge, he decided he would figure things out for himself and proceed to walk across it. The path looked exquisitely crafted, the steps that lead the way shone in a golden-brown color. A sudden blow of the wind passed by, bristling all around him to a point in which he could feel it even breeze to the tips of his paws.

It felt as if the pathway would carry on forever, but Nick finally reached the end of where the bridge went over to. As he stepped off of the bridge and onto the tall grasses near him, the vulpine observed another slice of natural wonder that this paradise had to offer.

He called for Judy another time, only to meet the same reaction: Silence.

Only this time he heard something shortly afterwards, making his ears perk up. The bristling of the grass coming from up ahead quietly but audibly resonated near him. A figure coalesced before him, emerging from the natural path that went deeper in the distance. 

“Nick?” it called out.

Nick looked up immediately at the utterance of his name. _That voice. Could it be?_

The figure came closer, revealing the shape of the gray doe that the fox knew and loved. The bunny looked around, searching confusedly for the source of the calling it previously heard. Looking both ways before seeing who stood in front of her, the leporine was awestruck to see her mate standing within her vision once again.

“Nick!”

“Judy!”

The fox and rabbit happily ran up to each other, both of them now glowing with smiles. Judy jumped up for joy as Nick welcomingly spread his arms open, embracing her with a joyful, heartfelt hug. The two of them tried but terribly failed to hold back their tears of joy.

“Carrots,” Nick choked out, “you don’t know how happy I am to see you again.”

Judy rubbed a paw on her fox’s cheek, her eyes meeting her companion’s familiar emerald ones. “Same here. Everyday I waited for you, and here you are.”

Nick looked onto the horizon, intertwining his russet paw with his rabbit’s. He looked over at Judy, who simply smiled beside him. He was happy now that he finally got to see that cheerful and unbreakable smile once again.

“Come on, Fluff,” the vulpine said pleasantly, “let’s take a little stroll. I have a lot of time to make up for.”

As cheerful as ever, the doe did as requested and followed Nick’s lead. The two casually made their way further into the natural landscapes, continuing their explorations of the place that laid out before them. The reunited fox and rabbit strolled onward, standing as inseparable as they were in life.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Apologizing to anyone who might've teared up while reading this. Trust me, I even teared up a little as I typed this story out. I'll probably have to write about ten happy stories just to make up for this one.
> 
> I normally don't like writing too many stories that have some sadness to them, but this was just a concept that I needed to write out. Feedback is always appreciated, good or bad. Hope you guys enjoyed this story, and I'll see you next time!


End file.
